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Originally designed in the 1920’s for US Army Service pilots, Ray-Ban sunglasses have become synonymous with cool thanks to celebrities like Bob Marley, James Dean, Bob Dylan, Peter Fonda, and Tom Cruise. The cool tradition continued on Friday night in Sydney at the launch of the “Ray-Ban Envision Tour” at Hyde Park Barracks. Hotties and hipsters alike slung back Tiger Beer and listened to the sounds of Australian Idol turned barefoot folk-fellow, Matt Corby. The weather, having misunderstood the “cool” theme brought torrential rain and thunderstorms just as Corby took to the stage. Fortunately many of the guests had settled in for a fun evening and were not phased by the lightening and thunder which added an authentic music festival ambiance to the party. Watching a sopping wet Jordan Stenmark (one half of the Stenmark model twins) dancing happily in the rain was an unforeseen advantage of the otherwise unwelcome wet weather conditions.

The Ray-Ban Envision Tour continues with exclusive concerts in Melbourne featuring Gold Fields and Brisbane featuring Jinja Safari. A series of mini concerts will be open to the public on subsequent days with bands such as Chance Waters, Guineafowl and Luna Lake.

Rupert Noffs, The Modern Gay NYC contributor, heads to the theater and discovers that if the Devil wears Prada then Satan wears high heels.

Camp! Sassy! Plain old devillsh! If you’re looking for fun this week, and want to escape the New York City chill, head to the Off-Broadway production of SATAN IN HIGH HEELS playing at the TheaterLab from November 1st to 3rd.

The swinging 1960’s was the age of go-go dancers, the fall of social taboos, Woodstock, and “sexploitation” films. Movies like “Lorna”, “Faster, Pussycat! Kill! KIll!” and this, “Satan In High Heels”, were generally exhibited in urban grind house theaters. This version for stage was written by Robbie Robertson and Directed by Mark Finley (Artistic Director of TOSOS. NYC’s oldest LGBT theater company) and stars Karen Stanion as Stacey Kane a sociopathic carnival striptease dancer that sleeps her way to the top in her quest to become a Manhattan cabaret singer. She engages in a series of sizzling affairs with lesbian nightclub manager Pepe, nightclub owner and shady businessman Arnold Kenyon, and Arnold’s naive college student son, Larry.

Stanion plays Stacy Kane as a Marylin Monroe-gone-bad character which was fun to watch – equal parts Satan & Sass! Ron Bopst as Arnold Kenyon was strong as Stacy’s side-kick. Virginia Baeta as Pepe was butch but brassy, Paul Cailoa as Larry Kenyon, Brett Warwick as Rudy Valetine, and Jacqueline Sydney as Felice who knows how to make an entrance. It was Robert Locke, however, who stole the show with his overly camp potrayal of Paul. He had perfect timing. He just needs to savor more moments with his adoring audience. Jim Nugent as the cab driver/Vincent the waiter, Larry Bullcok as the Barker/Louie/Witch Doctor, Jeremy Lawrence, Mary Louise Mooney and Chris Weikel glued the ensemble together. As a group they worked together well, with no-one shifting focus and all totally in the moment. The ensemble scenes were the high-light of Satan In High Hells, with hints of vaudeville and slapstick.

The set was as simple as they come. Four black chairs used as the main props and an effective projection screen on the wall behind, told the audience where we were. Black and white shots of the Manhattan skyline worked well. It was slightly disappointing, however, to see the capability of the lighting at the Dixon Place Theatre not being used to it’s full potential. We got either black-out or white-out. I would’ve loved a spot-light here or there, especially in the song sequences and even some color…Devil Red, perhaps?

The star of the original 60’s film, Meg Mylles, was sitting front-row center at last night’s performance. What a darling. It was amusing to watch her reactions throughout the show. Especially the moment where Stanion mimes to Mylles’ voice from the famous “The Female Of The Species” scene. I felt frustrated for Stanion, however as she had a slight wardrobe-malfunction with her belt at the end, which, she could’ve worked into the performance (how about throwing the belt to Mylles with a little air-kiss?) but, you could see Stanion was caught off guard …and rightly so! That was brave.

Having only seen moments of the original film, one of the first low-budget “indie” films which brought a new wave aimed as a vehicle for the exhibition of non-explicit sexual situations and gratuitus nudity. I thought Roberston did an exceptional job in bringing the story back to life; which you’d would think is tricky with something that is, let’s face it, pretty dated. He penned a script that even young theater goers could bite into and be satisfied. There were moments that reminded me of a more sexier Death of A Salesman. A comedy of errors with lipstick, if you will.

The dance scenes were wonderfully choreographed by John Paolillio, with priceless 1960’s trademark moves. If only there were more!

The whole production was brilliantly Directed by Mark Finley who, you can tell, had a lot of fun with his cast. There were moments, however, that could be slowed down to let room for audience laughter and applause. We wanted to, we just didn’t have time! Also, when the actors mimed the ‘teasing of the hair’, ‘honking the car horn’ and ‘writing the check’ these moments had the opportunity to be over-acted. Sometimes, it’s odd for the audience to not actually see these props, so why not make it completely over-the-top and fun? Which is, exactly what this show is all about.

For the love of God, go see Satan!

Side Note: Last night’s performance was at Dixon Place Theatre, and having been a Lower East Side resident for nearly a year now, I thought I’d been to every diner and dive. Obviously not. This space is awesome. Complete with bar, rehearsal space and full theater for 150 people including mezzanine. Dixon Place is a not-for-profit organization and the audience was encouraged to “drink up” at the bar to help pay for the staff and performers. Who doesn’t love a drink with a splash of good karma?

The remainder performances of Satan In High Heels will be playing from November 1, 2 and 3, 2013 at TheaterLab NYC located at 357 West 36th Street between Eighth and Ninth Avenue. For more information visit www.sataninhighheels-theplay.com. To purchase tickets click here.

The Modern Gay was invited by Guess to attend their annual summer party and launch of the label’s summer collection. Held on Sydney harbour, guests were transported by boat to the GuessIsland where shirtless male waiters served tropical inspired cocktails and a troupe of 22 Polynesian fire dancers and drummers provided unique entertainment. Did I mention that there were shirtless waiters serving drinks? This Modern Gay Man enjoyed his fair share of cocktails, ensuring that a continuous flow of handsome waiters were kept in close proximity.

The party continued with old school tunes thanks to The Faders who kept the harbour rocking long after the sun had set. On the The Modern Gay Evaluation Scale this party scored 4.5 rainbows out of 5, in part due to the shirtless waiters but mainly thanks to the mix of good weather, friendly people, tasty drinks and a sexy brand.

Belvedere Vodka and DNA Magazine hosted a “Make Believe” party on Saturday 2nd March to coincide with the Sydney Mardi Gras parade. Upstairs Beresford was transformed into a “Winter Wonderland” where celebrities, musicians and Sydney’s party people enjoyed bespoke Belvedere cocktails and premium entertainment from the likes of Van She, Collarbones and DJ Kitty Glitter. The event was hosted by international party queen Jodie Harsh and continued long after the parade had finished.

Many brands have cautiously dipped their toe into the “gay dollar” pond but it’s rare to see a brand such as Belvedere associate itself so wholeheartedly with the gay community. I guess this is because brands have traditionally been affraid of isolating mainstream consumers by aligning with polarizing smaller markets.

Disclaimer: Although I am the PR Account Manager for Belvedere Vodka, their decision to host an event to coincide with Mardi Gras was made independently of my input. I had always been an adorer of the Belvedere brand and was very impressed by their previous years’ gay events long before I was even on the payroll.